When the waves change
by panemetcircenses12
Summary: When Luna and her boyfriend from District 4 are reaped for The 74th Annual Hunger Games, she doesn't know what to expect. Her mentor - Finnick, knows she has a chance of becoming victor, and does anything he can to ensure this. But when the odds were not in her favour & she struggles to survive, will she pull through with the help of vicious District 2's Cato? Rating may change!
1. When the waves change

Water makes me feel at peace. Taking a deep breath, preparing my body to be caressed by the crashing waves around me, before finally being taken away by the movement of the ocean to somewhere I don't know, and don't want to know, either. I lay on my back, eyes scanning the patchy blue and white sky, letting the cold, deep sea decide my movements for the next few minutes - I don't want this moment to end, I close my eyes not wanting to think about anything while I still have the time.

A few moments of blissful thoughtlessness pass me by, when the thought I worked so hard to push away somehow manages to creep back into my mind. No, I refuse to think about this here, the ocean is my sanctuary, I won't let such a tranquil place for me become dark - not today. I force my head up, seeing just how far away from the shore I've become and I'm surprised when I'm only about a mile or so away from the lush, white sand. I quickly turn onto my front, deciding I should probably begin to swim back before my family start worrying about me like they usually do after I've been gone for a while. They don't seem to realize I need the time alone sometimes, but I try my best to keep them happy, especially this around this time of the year.

I swim quickly, elegantly, bobbing my head up and down, sucking in as much air as physically possible when my head is above the water, just to release all the oxygen from my lungs again a minute or so later like little bubbles escaping my lips, like little secrets. I like being able to hold my breath underwater for a long time, it makes me feel like I'm connected to the sea and all it's inhabitants somehow. For the time I'm underwater, I can't help but wish I could stay under the surface of the ocean for the rest of my life with all the curious creatures that swim around me this very second, jealous of them living down here and myself living up there. Stepping out onto the warm, grainy sand, I wring my hair out leaving a large damp patch on the sand, which is untouched other than my footprints. The beach seems lonely, abandoned in the last few weeks, with such a troublesome and somewhat stressful event approaching very quickly, the people of my district have better things to do than visit the ocean and they prefer spending time with family. That will change in the next few weeks, when my sanctuary will become such for most people. I step lightly until I reach a large rock, and reach around it for my bag.

I use my towel the pat myself dry in the warm air before placing it back in my bag & throwing my bag over my shoulder and begin walking to the edge of the beach, where sand mixes with small, rough pebbles. My feet are used to it though. I walk a few more meters and glance upwards at the large cliff, and I instantly see my second home, somewhat concealed by shrubs and vines, and I begin stepping up the large rocks that almost see designed to be stairs, and then begin carefully climbing up using small indents in the rock until I'm high above the sand and can see the ledge I need to reach. Throwing my bag up, it disappears into the hole in the rocks and I reach up with a grunt until my hands are holding all my body weight and heave myself up.

Heaving myself up onto the ledge of my hidden home, uses a fair amount of my upper body strength but I do make it. I crawl over to my usual spot in the back, feeling safe. The cave is quite small, but feels large enough for me to be comfortable there. The opening is only about a meter wide, but once inside it seems to open up into a tall dome, closing up into a narrow tunnel in the back I daren't crawl into, doubting I'd get back out due to it's size. I keep a small pillow hidden at the small tunnels opening, for the nights I sleep here to get away from it all, a small jarred candle, a box of matches, and an incredibly fluffy blanket - It's homely like that and I love it. I dry myself off further, strip out of my bikini leaving it to hang off the edge hoping the slight breeze will dry it off, and wrap myself in my towel tightly. I sit on the edge and spent what feels like hours admiring the view and feeling proud to live in District 4, it truly is such a beautiful district. I let out a sigh of relief - feeling glad our landscape was never ruined by ugly factories and landfills like many of the other districts. We have one or two factories though.

This cave is the most important place for me, it has meaning as it's where I come when I'm upset, irate, or just need somewhere to be alone for a while. This cave had meaning for someone before me, I know this as when I first discovered this hidden treasure one day a few years ago when I needed shelter from a storm, I found a necklace far in the corner made from rough rope, only with the most beautiful charm hanging from its length - a small trident carved from wood along with a long abandoned base for a fire. From the day I found it I keep it secured around my own neck thinking of it as a goodluck charm for myself, although I do wish I could return it to its rightful owner.. I doubt the owner's still around, though, or surely they would have returned for it years ago, and for this reason I haven't searched, it would be futile after so long. I look as far to the right as my neck allows, just managing to see the large clock tower, designed to signal workers of one of our seafood factories know when their shifts are over and notice it's 7pm - I should've realized it was getting late. There's barely enough light here anymore to even see as far as the corner where my bag is. Quickly pulling my towel off, I reach into my bag and change into some underwear, I throw a black vest over my head and getting it wet in the process, jump into a pair of jeans and secure my leather boots around my ankles. They're made from comfortable, supple leather that quickly molded to the shape of my feet, I think of them as a luxury, much better than the flat shoes and sandals most of the population wear. My hand works as a comb and my long hair is finally free of knots, so I gather it up on the back of my head and secure it in a bun, being far too lazy to make it look decent, I roll up my wet clothes and hurriedly toss them into a plastic bag, throw the plastic bag inside my normal bag to prevent my other belongings getting wet and drop it over the ledge allowing it to collide with the sand, allowing me to begin making my own way down the rough cliffside and commence my hour long walk home.

Finally I find the key in the bottom of my bag and thrust it into the lock. If there's one thing I react terribly to, it's being cold, and cold is what my district is. I run upstairs instantly to get changed into my warmest bed clothes and robe, leaving my bag on my bed before making my way downstairs again to have dinner with my family; my mother, father and Alexis my little sister. We're a close family, closer than any other family I know. Me and my sister are inseparable, I care about her, I think of myself as her guardian and protector.

I used to be quite distant to her a few years ago, never quite growing out of jealousy when she was the baby of the family, but 3 years ago my brother Cayden was reaped for The Hunger Games when he was 18. He was the first tribute to be murdered in the bloodbath in the Cornucopia by a career tribute from District 2. The tributes from District 1, 2 and 4 usually pact together to be allies, but Caydens fellow District 4 tribute was a 12 year old girl, with next to no skills and a weak body. The other Careers refused to let her into the alliance and therefore Cayden wanted no part in it, either. I have the uptmost respect for him for his actions. Watching your older brother, your role model, get murdered when you're only 13 makes you realize what you have and from that day onwards I went on to build a much stronger relationship with Alexis and my parents. I was their shoulder to cry on, despite only being 13. Alexis was only 9 at the time, I often had to sing her to sleep and coax her to eat and drink for months after the incident, she would sometimes sleep cocooned into my body and my voice would soothe her to sleep, only to wake from nightmares most nights. These are the reasons I protect her.

My parents drifted from us. They often went away and we wouldn't see them for days, we're just assuming they went to stay with family in the south of our district, nowhere else they could've gone as general public aren't allowed to use transportation. Slowly they became aware of us again, of real life. It took us a while to heal, but we're closer than ever now.

Dinner comes and goes, and we gather in the living room to watch some mandatory programme from the Capitol. It's President Snow speaking about how The Hunger Games came to be, how the Capitol who loves them and feeds them were betrayed. We know all this from school, and frankly I doubt all this was the rebels fault, they wouldn't have acted how they did without reason, that I know for a fact. President Snow has clearly been surgically.. er, enhanced. He's an old, small, thin man, with paper-white hair and thick lips that seem pulled across his face. He looks revolting to say the least and whatever he seems to have done to his lips did him no favours what so ever. He then goes on to speak about The 74th Annual Hunger Games.

And in that second, the dark cloud I tried desperately to keep out of my thoughts return in an instant. In a weeks time, there will be a public reaping outside the Justice Building of all 12 districts, where 23 children will die needlessly once again.

* * *

I re-wrote the entire chapter due to when I read it back to myself, I really did not like it. This is my first ever fan fiction, therefore I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, and what I'm doing right (if anything) so I'd highly appreciate any reviews to help me for when I write the next chapter. I will be updating very soon and probably will with every chapter as I have a **lot** of free time on my hands! Please and thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this, I'm grateful! ^_^


	2. The Reaping

It's the day of the public reaping, and I'm not nervous.

Maybe I should be, but my name's only in there 5 times. The odds are most definitely in my favour this year, considering my family have enough money to prevent us from needing tessera from wealth being passed down the generations and being spent wisely, and my parents' careers. My father has been the Captain on The Red Haired Maiden for over 20 years. His ship is the most well known, as it's reputation was so high President Snow requested this ship to be the sole seafood harvester for his and his family's mansion in The Capitol, and therefore the wage is quite high.

My mother inherited a large amount of money from her parents when they passed away, but she does a few shifts every week in the Mayors house. She's The Mayors daughters' friend, in a way. She goes there to clean, cook for Coral and Emily Randkin, but more than that she's there to speak to them and play with them as their parents go away on business often. Thankfully when my father's away my mother tends to still be home, and when my mother's working my father is always home, so we're never left alone.

The reaping is at 11am, and it's currently 6am. I wake up early every day, mainly to go to the sea. Jumping into the bath, I add a somewhat overly generous amount of my favourite bubble bath that smells of vanilla. I wash my hair, scrub my body excessively before I submerge myself for a minute, before surfacing. Leaving any bad thought under the water as I drain them away, out of the tub. Wrapping my hair in a towel tightly, I dry my body before wrapping myself in a towel tightly around myself and walk to my bedroom. I throw my robe on over my towel and begin styling my hair using my brush and hairdryer, until it falls down to my ribs in soft, natural waves.

Standing up, I un-do my robe and allow my towel to fall to my feet before standing in front of my full length mirror. I wish I was still going to grow, but I highly doubt it now that I'm 16. I'm 5'4, and have been for years, making the likelihood of any more growth very slim. My body's strong from all the swimming, without being bulky. It's feminine, curves where they should be but with visible definition. I think I'm around 120lbs but I can't be too sure as I'm not about to succumb to body insecurity like many of my female friends. They worry about their weight, I worry about how many miles I can swim and how long I can hold my breath under water, and that's how I intend on keeping it. Light ginger hair flows down to my waist in soft, natural waves. My eyes are green, like most of our districts' population with blue flecks. I'm pale. I just can't seem to gain a tan no matter how often I go outside, which is often, now that I think about it.. My lips are full, and I'm often complimented about them, I'm not sure where I got them from, though as this isn't something passed down my family line, either. All in all, I'm genuinely quite happy with my natural appearance.

I place the anchor necklace around my neck, and dress myself in a basic black bikini, a pair of denim shorts and a thin jumper. I'm not one for fashion. I squeeze my boots on, grab my bag and head out the door to go see Deyon.

Deyon and I have been together for 3 years. My name's in the reaping 5 times, his, on the other hand has been entered 18 times. 7 times due to his age, and 11 times from tessera that he needed to take out. His family aren't struggling, but Deyon's one out of 6 siblings so it gets a bit difficult for them at times so I understand why he did it, to prevent his brothers and sisters from having to increase their chances so he took all the risk himself. The courage it takes the go through with selfless acts is what makes me respect a person, Deyon is no exception to this.

Muscular arms engulf me just moments after knocking on his door. I take in his scent - berries. His mother must have been cooking again. Standing on tip toes, I wrap my arms tightly around his neck and rest my head against his chest.

"Hey, beautiful." The words send a shiver down my spine.

"Hello." I reply with a slight giggle, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

We stand there for a minute, before his mother peeks through the door and offers me a drink which I accept.

Walking through his house, I notice the twins - Jerome and Liam- already dressed in their reaping clothes eating breakfast. They aren't as loud as they usually are. It's the first year they're eligible for the reaping, and they must be terrified. The rest of his siblings are probably still in bed, as Deyon and the twins are the only siblings eligible this year. His older brother moved away many years ago, and his two younger sisters are only 7.

We head to his garden and sit closely on the wooden bench, my head resting on his shoulder, his hand playing with my hair. "Nervous?" He asks, never removing his hand from my hair.

"Not yet, why, should I be?" My reply is sleepy.

"No," He laughs "I am, though. I can't bare the thought of anyone I know being reaped. Jerome's never been so quiet, and Liam couldn't sleep last night so my mother stayed up half the night soothing him to no avail." I don't like speaking about it. It only makes me worry, what if he gets chosen for tribute? My lips find their way to his, preventing him from talking about it anymore. The kiss is innocent but full of passion, as they always have been between us.

"Let's just go. Please?" I manage as I break away from his lips at last. He nods. I thank his mother and we head off to the beach as we have two hours now until The Reaping and we need to make the most of it. The waves have changed. Yesterday they were peaceful, they kept my mind at ease. Today, despite there being next to no winds and the sun's out, the waves crash around blindly, unsettling my my mind just as the white sand surrounding us.

_I don't like this._

We place a large blanket down and lay down closely. My head on his chest, his arm around my waist tightly and we lay there for a while, staring up at the blank, blue sky. Apparently I fall asleep.

_ Deyon. Alexis. My mother, father. My family. Deyons family. My friends. Cayden. They all lie on the ground in front of me, their blood staining crystal white sand. I glance around, a large dome trapping me with nothing but murdered family and loved ones. I rush over and firmly press my ear against Deyons chest, I hear nothing. I fumble around to do the same to everyone else to simply hear silence. Laughing echoes from an unknown source somewhere behind me. I snap around seeing nothing but more sand and the dome begins shrinking above me and fire erupts in a circle around me._

I wake up screaming, tears stream down my face. Strong arms encircle me, causing my breathing to quicken and me to thrash around from my captor. "Luna! Luna, calm down!" I recognize Deyons voice and stiffen in his arms, nightmares usually happen this time of the year, I should've remembered. His hands trail up and down my back, as he whispers "It's okay, I'm here." in my ear until my breathing slows down and eventually returns back to normal. His hand wipes my face gently with his sleeve, removing any traces of my nightmare from my face. He cups my chin, gently turning my face to look him in the eye. His eyes are the brightest blue I've ever seen, even when they're clouded with concern and worry. His dark hair messily draping over his forehead. He's paler than usual. My hand finds his cheek and I press my forehead against his. "I'm sorry." I choke out, the image of Cayden creeping into my thoughts again.

"Shhh, don't worry about it. I guess we needed to wake up anyway. Good thing I have you as an alarm clock, right?" He beams at me, his smile genuine. I nudge him and smile back at him, before turning to look at the clock tower by the factory. 10:06am.

"We need to head back." We both agree, pack up the blanket and head back.

* * *

I plait my hair down my back loosely, not bothering with anything more sophisticated, and drag myself over to my drawers and pull out my best dress. It's a simple lavender dress that comes down to my knees and has long sleeves, a sash securing it around my waist. It's the nicest dress I have, and unfortunately The Reaping is the only time of the year I have a reason to dress up nicely. Stepping out into the hallway, I open Alexis' door.

"Hey." I coo, not wanting to scare her.

"Oh, hey," she smiles at me "Can you help me with my hair?" I pull up a seat beside her and begin brushing it gently for a few moments, not wanting to be the first to speak.

"Will I be chosen, Luna?" She blurts out unexpectedly.

"No, love. There are people in this district with their name in the Reaping Balls atleast 70 times, yours is only in there once. I wouldn't let them take you." My voice is calm, but I don't know how. My hands rush to finish her hair.

"How do you know? Cayden was chosen and he was only in there 7 times, we didn't expect him to be chosen, either, but it still happened." She sighs. "And what if you get chosen? What would we do without you?" I can see the tears forming in her eyes. Her words aren't those of an innocent 12 year old, but how can you expect her to speak like a child after seeing her brother murdered? That kind of event can strip a child of innocence within seconds, can tear someone apart. Her head falls between her knees and her hands over her ears.

"Look at me." I say, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her back up as gently as I can, before turning her face until we're looking at each other square in the face. My hands grab her hands off her ears and pull them down to her side.

"Cayden lost his life, but nobody in this District lives without knowing what he did to try and help little Elana. The level of respect he has is incredible. The odds just weren't in his favour to be chosen out of the blue but it happens." I take a deep breath, shooing the memories from my thoughts. "You will not be chosen, that's a promise. This district is full of careers, someone would volunteer for you, anyway so you don't even need to worry about that. I won't be chosen either, and if I did, I'd clearly win. Can't you see my bulging muscles?" I grin at her, lifting my sleeve up and tensing my muscles for her to see my not-so-bulging muscles. This manages a giggle from her, and that's good enough for me. I lift her up on my back, her legs around my waist and her hands on my shoulder and carry her down stairs. I thrust my feet into some simple black shoes, and the entire family make their way out of the door.

* * *

Peacekeepers wonder the streets. Everywhere you look, they're there. What do they expect? People from District 4 to begin running? Even I can admit The Capitol have treated our District fairly. Nobody here dies from starvation or disease, mainly just old age. Nobody would even attempt to run away from here. Alexis and I are separated the moment we're outside The Justice Building due to age categories. I'm hoping she didn't panic too much from having her finger pricked, I know she hates blood.

* * *

Eloise Red looks ridiculous this year. She's sporting a turquoise wig and has done something to her eyes, as I doubt she was born with natural turquoise eyes that are the exact same colour as her wig. Her skin much darker than I remember last year, and her dress makes her look like a disco ball. Unfortunately, she's District 4's tribute escort.

You can see how proud many of the boys look, who have trained in a special academy from a young age purposely to volunteer as tribute once they're 18. They look muscular, lethal. The girls don't really have that look, they don't want to kill like the men. But the tension is still in the air, and the warmth isn't helping the situation much.

"Welcome! Hello my little sea creatures!" She squeaks. I cringe, badly. "Please take a moment to watch this film from The Capitol, especially you first timers here!" She says excitedly, as a film begins playing behind her on an unnaturally large screen. I zone out during this, I've seen it once during my first reaping and since then I've blanked out every time.

"Brilliant, wasn't it?" She claps and gives a few small jumps, and when she lands on the last leap one of the heels on her shoes break, creating a giggle from the crowd. Her smile disappears as she removes her shoes and continues the ceremony bare foot.

"Now, it's time to select the lucky young man and woman to represent District 4 in the 74th Annual Hunger Games!" She states, trying to re-gain some of her long gone pride.

"Ladies first!"

You could hear a pin drop. You could hear a single droplet of rain fall from the sky, it was so silent as she took small steps towards a large, clear ball in the front of the stage and puts her hand in right to the bottom, pushing many of the little paper slips out of the way. Her hand comes out of the Reaping Ball holding a tiny piece of paper folded up neatly. She walks back towards the microphone before unfolding the little piece, and booming the voice of the poor soul through the microphone for all the hear. She smiles broadly over the crowd, eyes scanning each and every one of them. She clears her throat, loudly before announcing.

"Luna Casteel!"

For a moment, I forget my name. Then I come back into reality.

My feet move towards the stage of their own accord within seconds, I have lost control over my body.

_And my future_.

Peacekeepers come to both sides of me and grab the top of my arms forcefully, speeding me up. I try to shake them off. I'm not going to run, my body wasn't going to let me. They release me almost as if they know I intend on being cooperative, but stay less than an inch away from either side of me until I reach the steps leading up to the stage, where a grinning Eloise is stretching down her arm, waiting to grab my hand. I glance back at the crowd, where the parents stand behind the areas where their children are fenced off, like animals for the slaughter. Many are shaking their heads, displeased.

I take a deep breath, calm my face, push my chest out and take proud strides up the stairs, grasping Eloise's hand when I reach the top for balance. She seems to understand that I'm not going to attempt to escape, so she releases my hand and points towards the wooden chairs in a line behind her. I take a seat next to the Mayor, whom I've never actually spoken to now that I think about it.

He's an old, frail man who looks like a shell of himself. All I know about him is that his wife died many years ago, and since then he's rarely been seen around the District. My thoughts are interrupted when he mouths the words "I'm sorry." to me, sympathy flooding his empty eyes. I nod understandment before silently replying "Don't worry. Better me than somebody else." and give him a smile, subtle enough for the cameras and hundreds of people surrounding us to not notice it, yet meaningful enough for him to notice. With that, we turn back in time to endure the reaping of yet another person. Eloise is walking back towards the microphone, almost tip-toeing. Probably doesn't want to pick up any of our Districts germs any more than necessary. I smile at the thought. She fumbles a moment until she has straightened the slip, and reads out the name of the person I will be fighting for my life against.

"Deyon Llywelyn!"

* * *

No reviews or anything yet, hoping that will change soon! I'm thoroughly enjoying writing this, and feedback would be highly appreciated. Any questions? PM me and I'll get back to you! Anything I need to improve/change? Please let me know :) Thank you!


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